Tcothbrush



C. J. FUNK TOOTHBRUSH April 14, 1931.

Filed 'Dec. 15, 1924 Patented Apr. 14, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE CHARLES J. FUNK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSEIGNMENTS, TO THE TEFRA 00., OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE rcornnn-usn Application filed December 15, 1924. Serial No. 755,874.

. My invention relates to improvements in a toothbrush of the type wherein the brush is made separable from the handle or holding member therefor whereby upon the brush wearing down so that it is no longer effective or becoming soiled; it may be discarded and a new one substituted.

One object of my invention is to provide an improved holding member for the brush of such construction that it may be manufactured expeditiously at low cost and entirely,

if desired, from a relatively inexpensive moldable material such as celluloid, pyralin or the like.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a holdingmember forthe brush of such construction that the member will take a frictional grip upon the edges of the back of the brush, which will be ample to hold the brush properly when handled or in use when the latter is inserted thereinto, without the necessity of employing any special locking devices for that purpose.

The invention consists in the novel constructions and arrangements to be hereinafter described and claimed for carrying out the above-stated objects and such other objects as will appearfrom the following description of certain preferred embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein n Fig. 1 is a perspectiveview of a complete toothbrush construction embodying certain principles of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, on

an enlarged scale, of a fragmentary portion of the brush holding member shown in Fig. 1 Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; i Fig. 4: is a perspective view. of the tufted brush back;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a fragmentary portion of a brush holding member of another construction;

Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional views taken on the lines 66 and 7-7 respectively of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of another modified brush holding member, the handle thereof being broken off Fig; 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 99 of Fig. 8; i

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional View of a brush holding member similar to that shown in Fig. 8, thehandle thereof also being broken off; and

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line 11 11 of Fig. 10.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several views.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4:, inclusive, the brush holding member17 is preferably integrally formed with and on one end of a handle member 18. The brush holding member. is formed with a loop 19 which is arranged to surround entirely the edge portions of the back 20 carrying the tufts of the bristles 21. The loop is formed so that the opening therein is somewhat larger than the tufted back of the brush. The loop at its bottom side is preferably formed with an inwardly projecting perimetrical shoulder 22 to form a seat for the back of the brush. A reinforcing band 23 of any suitableresilient metal is disposed in the loop, saidjband being secured in the loop in any desired manner, for example, by forcing the portions 23a thereof outwardly into the material forming the ends of the loop. The distance between the side portions 236 of the band is substantially less than the distance across the corresponding edge portions of the brush back 20, consequently the aforesaid side portions of the band must be forced apart when the brush back ispressed into the band. Otherwise the band in the embodiment being described conforms substantially to the outline of the brush back. The material forming the sides of the loop is cut away or relieved at 190; behind the aforesaid side portions 2% of the band so that they may yield and be spreadwhen the brush back is inserted into the band. The band portions 23?) take a strong frictional gripon the side edge portions of the brush back and as the band fits quite closely the other edge portions of the brush, the latter is securely held in the holding member. It will be obvious that the bandand the loop may be arranged so that portions other than the side portions portions 32a thereof onto the material forming the loop. The'band 32 and its supporting loop are so arranged that'the internal length of the bandis substantially equal to the outside perimetrical length of the .brush back; the normal configuration of the loop and the band, however, is different from that" of the brush back; consequently, before the 7 brush back can be inserted into the band, the 20 hand and the loop must be distorted slightly to conform substantially to the outline of the brush back. In the embodiment illustrated the band and loop are normally shorter and wider. than the brush back; therefore,

when the brush back is to be inserted into theband and loop, the sides of the loop are pressed toward each other thereby elongating the band and loop and permitting back to be easily inserted.

In the construction shown inFigs. 8 and 9, the brush holding member 33 is formed with a loop 3a the internal surfaces 34a at the-ends of which are. normal or straight while the surfaces 34?) at the sides are slight ly inclined, a two-degree taper having been found satisfactory. The edge portions of the back 35 of thebrush 36 are formed so as to fit snugly'intotheloop. 'It will be ob-- vious that the brush backmay be tightly wedged into the holding memberthus pro vided therefor. The construction shown in Figs. 10 and 11 is identical with that shown the brush in Figs. 8 and 9-except a reinforcing band 37 is disposed in the loop.

In all the constructions hereinabove described the. brush holding member takes a reliable frictional grip on the edges of the back of the brush which is ample to hold the brush securely when the. device is handled and when the brush is. in u seson the teeth.

lVhen a brushbecomes unfit for further use, may reaclily be removed and a new one may thenbe substituted. When a re nforcinto position therein.

readily obtainable'on the market, possess sufficient strength and elasticity for the purpose, and are easy to handle in carr ing out the manufacturing operations. urthermore, the finished articles are light in weight, attractivein appearance, require no, special treatment or care to" maintain them in a sanitary condition and theyproduce no unpleasant sensation should they strike; the teeth while they are being brushed;-

I do not intend to limit my invention to the details of construction shown and described, exceptfonly in so far as certain of the appended claims are specifically so lim-' ited, as it will beobvious that modifications principles of my invention. I

Icla-im: 1. A toothbrush comprising infl'combi'n'a tion a holding member provided with a loop,

an endless substantially non-stretching band secured within said loop,and a tufted backmember-cleta-chably held by a frictional grip therein. H

2. A toothbrush comprising in combination a holdingfr'nember providedwith an unbroken annular loop having a sloping" inner frietional grip withinlsaidloopwhenipressed .may be made without departing from the within said bandwhn pressed into position V a V V V bearing face portion at a part of itsperiph-..

y sloping inner bearing ing and straight 'edgepo'rtions held by af frictional grip within; said loop whenpr'ess'ed CHARLES J. FUNK.

ing band is-employed, thesides and ends of the loop may be relatively thin which lessens the Weight of the finished article and makes it more convenient to handle. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the constructions of my improved brush holding members are such that they may be expeditiously' manufactured with a minimum of forming and finishing operations and of'a material such as celluloid, "pyralin or the like, Such materials are highly desirable because they are relatively inexpensive,

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